The Whole Horse
by BillyTheArsonist
Summary: Nick and Judy would never expect to meet a horse quite this bizarre.


Light shimmered off a pair of pitch-dark shades that sheltered the eyes of a crimson fox making his way down the busy streets of the Downtown district of Zootopia. It was a bright day, the sun beating down on the officer's head, the perfect weather for some R&R on the sandy beaches of Sahara Square; that is, if the ZPD wasn't swamped on hot, energetic days like these. With the much larger number of mammals active on the streets of Zootopia, criminals tend to rear their ugly heads at a faster rate, forcing the city's police department to call in extra officers to handle the overflow. Underneath those reflective sunglasses, Officer Wilde has a face of displeasure. He used to have the day off, until a certain bovine called for some extra help. 

"Nick! slow down a bit, I still gotta catch up with you first!" a voice familiar to him called out from the crowd. Nick then came to a halt, turning to the source of the noise.

A small rabbit, covered white and gray fur and a ZPD uniform very similar in design to his, stood behind several other larger mammals. She was currently trying to make her way to her partner, but was being slowed down by the overly-occupied streets.

"Sorry! Excuse me- Watch where you're stepping!" she would shout several passing phrases while pushing her way past the crowd.

"Hiya Carrots, took you long enough," the smug fox taunted her as she finally reached his side.

"You know I'd be trampled in a crowd like that," Judy retorted, "especially during rush hour, I had to be careful, you should too."

"I thought rabbit's feet were supposed to be lucky?" another sly remark would come from Nick.

"I thought foxes were supposed to be smart," Judy would jokingly punch him in the shoulder.

"Hard to think when the sun itself is trying to kill us!" While complaining about the current temperature, Nick would be tripped on by a horse. Judy narrowly avoided the collusion, but the same couldn't be said for the fox. The horse stumbled, nearly falling onto the hard and boiling concrete of the city sidewalks. Nick, however, wasn't as lucky, and fell on his back with a painful-sounding thump.

"I told you! you should've been more careful, Nick! Sorry about that-" she'd be cut off by the strange horse.

"It's okay, partner. You didn't mean it, so I ain't gonna take offense," the horse lowered the brim on his hat, walking off without a word more.

"That was... bizarre... Nick, you okay?" Judy finally shifted her attention to the fox on the floor.

"Yeah, I totally didn't just face-plant onto concrete here," Nick began to peel himself off the sidewalk, his partner fumbling over to help him back up.

While helping him up, she'd get a closer look at the strange man they accidentally bumped into. He stood out like a sore thumb to the rest of the crowd, looking like he was pulled from a time machine straight out of the wild west. He wore a mustard-yellow ten-gallon hat, a poncho the same color. Underneath the poncho, an aqua green t-shirt and wooden brown pants. The last thing to notice was his dirt brown boots, all of this together made him look like a proper gunman.

"As much as I appreciate you helping me back up, I don't need someone to lead me across the street," his statement would snap Judy back to the current situation. Quickly realizing that she was too busy focusing on the oddity of their encounter than on her own actions, Judy discovered she still hadn't let go of Nick's arm since she helped him up.

"Oops, right," she quickly let go once she snapped back, "it's just, that horse back there, doesn't he look the least bit suspicious to you? He dresses like-"

"Probably just going to some sort of convention," Nick would cut in. "look, we're already at the station, against all my complaints."

"No need to beat a dead horse, Nick," snickering came from Judy, "just grit and bear having to work on such a nice day."

With a hop, jump, and a skip Nick and Judy would already make it past the glass doors of the ZPD station. Cool air would blast them in the face the moment they entered, a refreshing perquisite of the station taking account of the scorching weather outside. Just another day of these two officers of the law.


End file.
